Thursday, July 12, 2012

Signature

So, remember yesterday, when I said I'd be back today to talk about 'signature sins'? Here, as promised, I have typed out THREE pages of text from the book, "The Me I Want to Be". Which? By the way? TAKES ME FOREVER, because I kinda suck at typing. And, because I am listening to Northview's podcasts while doing this, and I end up typing the words I'm hearing with my ears, not the words I'm reading with my eyes.

Anyway, from what I understand, Mangis is proposing that our sins are predictable based on our gifts. People with the gift of leadership, for example, are going to have 'signature' sins that people with the gift of servanthood will likely not be troubled with.

"We do not get tempted by that which repulses us. Temptation rarelybegins by trying to get us to do something that is 180 degrees in the opposite direction of our values. It starts close to home with the passions and desires that God wired into us and tries to oull them a few degrees off course. Our sin takes a consistent and predictable course. The pattern of your sin is related to the pattern of your gifts. For example, extroverts who can inspire and encourage can also be prone to gossip. People who love to learn will be tempted to feel superior and talk down to others. Those who are spontaneous, and have a great appetite for life will struggle with impulse control. Good listeners may become passive enablers. Optimists wander toward denial."

So, read the list below.

Can you see yourself? Do you agree?

Can you see your kids? Your spouse? Your boss? Your friends?

What do you think?

What's interesting, is that, I can totally see some people very clearly in this list. BUT I CAN'T SEE MYSELF. We talked about this over the weekend, and I could see Clint, Jesse, Sandra, Val and John in this list. But not myself.

And I was afraid to ask them if they saw me.

What a vulnerable question to ask... because in addition to ask someone what they see your GIFTS as being, you're also asking them to identify your SINS.

Anyway, I was in a 'circle of trust' (HAHAHAHA) - with a few of the people on earth who probably know me best, and they too, couldn't identify me.

1.Reformershave a
deep love of perfection. They naturally have a high standard of excellence and
their greatest fear is to be flawed. They make good surgeons and great golfers.
At best they are crusaders, watch dogs, and prophets. They wrestle with
perfectionism and self-righteousness. They will be tempted to judge others
whose standards are not so high.

• Strengths

Lives with an internal standard of what is good, noble,
and beautiful

Calls others to live better lives

• Weaknesses

Can be arrogant when unredeemed

Has high standards that can lead to a secret, inner sense
of inadequacy

2.Serverslove to be
needed. They are natural caregivers who will fluff up your pillow even if it
doesn’t need fluffing. They remember birthdays and are the first ones up to do
the dishes. Often servers work in positions where they support someone else,
and they will feel most comfortable in a social gathering when they have
something to do. While they are drawn to help, their helping can sometimes come
out of their own neediness.
Underneath their servanthood sometimes lurks low self-esteem that demands to be
fed but can never be filled up. Sometimes servers marry addicts because that
forms a kind of symbiotic relationship.

• Strengths

Lives out love in action

Has a natural other-centeredness that makes people feel
cared for

• Weaknesses

Can use “giving” to manipulate others

Sometimes mistakes servanthood with fear or low esteem

3.Achieverslove to
conquer challenges and perform before others. At their best, they are motivated
to grow, stretch, and learn. They can inspire and move people to action, and
they often like to be in front of crowds. Giving a talk, which is the most
common fear in America, often energizes them.
If they don’t have a chance to develop and shine, they will lose
motivation. Achievers want to make an impact on the world around them. Their temptation
is that they can live for their image, idolizing their own performance.
Unredeemed, they will be prone to measure their success in terms of applause
and recognition. An unredeemed achiever can turn what looks like serving God
into serving himself.

• Strengths

Has a strong desire to grow

Has the ability to accomplish things and add value in the
lives of the world around them

• Weaknesses

Has the temptation to be preoccupied with one’s own
success

Sometimes uses other people to receive applause or
approval

4.Artistslove beauty
and carry inside strong desire to be unique. They love to express their
individuality in bold ways and enjoy living on the margins. In different eras
they were beatniks, hippies, or punk rockers. They often have a very strong
sense of what kind of look they want to effect or what life they want to create
that they cannot express in words but that emerges in art or action. While
they bring color and flair to a world that might otherwise be drab, their
sensitivity can enslave them to emotional swings, and their desire to be
special can become preoccupying. Their temptation is connected to the need to
be different. In their need to be special and stand out, they may look down on ‘ordinary
people’. They want to be bohemian – unless they live in Bohemia.

• Strengths

Loves beauty and goodness

Brings imagination to life, love and faith

• Weaknesses

Finds that the need to be different can become an end in
itself

Can be tempted to give in to impulses and live an
undisciplined life

5.Thinkerslike to
know – everything. At their best,
they are the investigators, scientists, and inventors among us. They love to
discover truths that no one else has seen and to master a body of knowledge, a
skill, or a hobby on their own. They often have amazing memories for the
information that they are interested in, and they are often quite introverted.
If you are a thinker, you probably like your own space. While thinkers love
knowledge, knowledge can ‘puff up’. Sometimes thinkers love being right more
than they love the people around them. Thinkers do not like to lose an
argument, and in their minds that has never happened. They don’t like to be interrupted,
and they go into solitude for hours, if not days. That doesn’t mean that they
are more spiritual; they just have a low need to be around people. Thinkers are
not fun to argue with – unless you are one.

• Strengths

Is a discoverer, inventor, and lover of logic

Holds a passion for truth – even when it is costly

• Weaknesses

Having conviction of being right can lead to arrogance

Can be tempted to withdraw from relationships and love

6.Loyalists were born
to be part of a team. They crave a cause to which they can give themselves and
a community that they can believe in. At their best they can help everyone else
become better. They are usually quite bright and often articulate, although
they may not volunteer their thoughts. But they can grow cynical when they feel
let down – which is inevitable at times. Loyalists’ suspicion of God is that He
is fickle, hard, or unfair, and their signature sin is fear.

• Strengths

Is faithful and dependable when the chips are down

Loves to be part of a great team

• Weaknesses

Is prone to skepticism or cynicism

When threatened, can be pushed into isolation by fear

7. Enthusiasts are
wired to be the life of the party. They can add zest and color to the lives of
everyone around them, and in their perfect world they would be the bride at
every wedding and the corpse at every funeral. They enthusiast will often have
a gift for storytelling – and they may talk about themselves a lot. If you talk
with them about their problems, they may listen to you at first, but it doesn’t
seem to stick with them. Enthusiasts are always saying ‘cool’, ‘awesome’, ‘wow’,
‘fabulous’, or ‘great’. They can live for years without seeing the pain or
darkness in other people or themselves. They are also tempted to make life
revolve around the pursuit of positive feelings –the desire for gratification –
and they become miserable if they feel they are not getting enough attention.

• Strengths

Has high capacity for joy and emotional expression

Has enthusiasm that is contagious

• Weaknesses

Can have a need to be the center of attention

Has a need to avoid pain that can lead to escape or
addiction

8.Commanders are
created to understand power and leadership, to know how it works and to feel a
natural pull toward it. If this is you, being strong is very important to you.
You have a need to lead. Opposition usually energizes you, but power can become
an end in itself, and you can get frustrated when you are not getting your own
way. Other people may be frightened by you if they don’t agree with you. If you
are a commander, you do not like to be coached, taught, corrected or led.

• Strengths

Has a passion for justice and a desire to champion a great
cause

Has charisma to lead that inspires others

• Weaknesses

Has a need for power that can cause others to feel used

Sometimes relies on fear and intimidation to get one’s own
way

9.Peacemakers have a natural
love for serenity and tranquility; they thrive when life is calm. Peacemakers
love the verse “How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in
unity!” Peacemakers can make excellent therapists and mediators, and in their
redeemed state they bring reconciliation to families, neighbourhoods, and
workplaces. But peacemakers can be tempted to seek peace at any price, using
their relationship skills to blend in and avoid taking initiative or assuming
risks because of their undue attachment to comfort. They often suffer from ‘terminal
niceness’ when courage is required instead.

• Strengths

Has a natural ability to listen well and give wise counsel

Has an easy-going, low-maintenance relational style

• Weaknesses

Has a tendency to smooth things over and avoid conflict

Is passive

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Thoughts? Let's go out for coffee and talk.

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Things I'm thankful for:
1. My bangs are trimmed. I WILL not wait this long next time. Seriously.
2. Lists like this one: BOOKS THAT CHANGED MY FAITH. Which books would be on your list?
3. Friends who send their husbands over to help me with a blue chores. Thank you friends.
4. Yay, Charlene has a 'published' article: Read it here.
5. A perfect evening at Crescent Beach, so so SO thankful for friends.
6. My dad. He told me today, as I sat down to feed him his lunch, "You're looking good." Oh dad. Thank you. I am thankful that dads are their daughters' greatest fans.

1 comment:

The thing that this is based off of is a new agey test called "The Enneagram". A lot of Christian authors have taken to it and have written phenomenal books about it. Our church staff is using it to help us understand ourselves and our teammates better. I have loved learning baout myself in this way and would totally encourage you to keep looking at it and researching it. It changed my life and my faith for sure!